In automobile vehicles and the like, it is common to provide a lamp assembly under the hood or luggage compartment cover to energize a lamp when the hood or cover is lifted. In one common device, a mercury switch is positioned in a plastic body and one set of terminals is provided therein which extend to a position for receiving a wedge base lamp. In order to contact the mercury switch, additional resilient spring loaded contacts extend from this set of terminals. Similarly, additional contacts are provided for at other ends of the mercury switch with associated intermediate contacting means to the mercury switch and wires extend from these contacts to the exterior of the body.
Among the objectives of the present invention are to provide a lamp assembly which effectively provides the desired illumination, which eliminates parts between the external contacts and the mercury switch; which minimizes the number of parts; wherein the terminals can be readily dropped in place during assembly; which has a novel mechanism for mounting the lamp assembly in position; which is capable of being disconnected manually; which can be very readily adapted to use without a mercury switch; which includes a novel lens arrangement; and which includes novel means for precisely providing the desired mounting of the lamp assembly on the hood or luggage compartment cover of the vehicle.
In accordance with the invention, an under hood and luggage compartment lamp assembly which is adapted to be positioned on a hood or luggage compartment of a vehicle so that when the hood or cover is lifted the lamp is energized comprises a plastic body, which has, at one end, a first set of spaced terminals, the outer end of which extend parallel for connection to a plug of a wiring harness and at the other end a second set of spaced terminals for receiving a wedge based lamp. The inner end of one of the first set of terminals is bent and resiliently engages the spherical contact of a mercury switch and the inner end of one of the second set of terminals is bent and engages the button contact of the mercury switch. The inner end of the other of the first set of terminals directly engages the inner end of the other of the second set of terminals. The body is provided with projections and recesses for locating the terminals such that they can be dropped in place during assembly. A cover closes the body and is mechanically locked to the body. The body further includes a first connector mounted thereon for snap engagement with an aligned opening in the foot or luggage cover onto which it is mounted. The body further includes a second connector which is adapted to snap into a second locating opening but is manually disengageable therefrom as may be needed. In a modified form, the mercury switch is eliminated and the terminals that engage the mercury switch are formed straight and interconnected directly.